Improvement in padlocks



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H nanna N EIFFL'ER, or. NEW YORK, N, Y.. Letters Patcnt'No. 12,378, dated December 17,' 186.7'.

IMPROVEMENT IN'PADLocKs.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CON-CERN: y l

Bc it known that I, HERRMAN EIFLEIt, of New York, No. 209 Bowery, in the county and State o'f New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Locks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a.

full, clear, and Vexact description thereof', which will enable those skilled in the art to makeand use the saine',

reference being hadl tothe accompanying dra\\'ing.forming part of this spccilication, in which drawing- Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation ot a padlock, constructed according to this invention, when locked. Figure 2 is a similar view' of thc same when unlocked. 'i Similar letters indicate corresponding parts.

This invention consists in the arrangement of a lever-stop, in combination with a series of loose tumblersl or with a. series of tumblers Awhich are not subjected to the action of springsnfin such avlnanner that when said le\'cr-stop is turned in one direction, thc tumbler-s are locked andthe shackle or boltot` the lock is securely retained in position, and if the leverstop is turncdin the opposite direction, the key can be inserted, and thereby the tumblers are brought in the propervposition to release the shackle or bolt. i

The invention consists also in the arrangement of false tumblers between thc regular tumblers, so as vto prevent said regular tumblcrs from carrying cach other along byfriction. f

A represents the case which cncloscs thc working-mechanism of my lock. In the side of thiscasc'is the key-hole fr throngh which the key is inserted. This key consists of a flat picco of`sheet metal,.and its notched' edge acts on the tumblers B B. "hese tumblers have theirl fulcrum on a stud, b, which is firmly secured-in the lock-plate. Oa this stud the tumblcrs swing loosely back anll forth, andthe regular tumblcrsB are provided with hooks, c, which catch into the end ot thc shackle C, and retain the same in a locked condition, as shown in lig. 1 of the drawing. Between the regular tun-.blcrs B are the false tumblers B', which have no hooks, and are used simpiy to prevent the regular tumblers from carrying cach other along by friction.l All the tumbler-s are perfectly loosc, and not subjected to the action ofsprings. When. locked, the tumblers are held in position by a lever-stop, D. This stop is secured to a stud, d, in the interior of' the case, and it can be turned by means oa button, which, being situated on the face-plate ot' the lock, is shown in red outlines. When this stop' is turned to the position shown iu iig. 1, the key cannot be inserted, the tumbler-s being prevented by the stop fronrrceeding and arranging themselves in the propel-*position for thc key. If desired, the stop may bc so arranged that it permits the t-,imhlcrs to recede a short distance, but not far enough to unlock the shackle or bolt` and in this case, persons not acquainted with the construction of my lock will havev great dil'liculty. to unlock the same, even if they have the propel' key.

In order to unlock the lock, the stop D must be turned to the position shown iu figf, and by inserting the key the tunblers are brought in the proper position to release the shackle or bolt. I

It will be readll)y understood by those skilled in the art, Athat.- a lock of this kind is very diilicult, if not impossible to pick, since in feeling the .tuiublex-s, it is impossible to tell in what position each ofthem stands, and by pressing on one of the tumbler-s it inay be pushed up too far or not far cnough,and if' pushed toofar,

`it catches again in the shackle, unil-it can only be pushed back by turning the lever-stop down to the position shown in lig. l, which will throw all the tumbler-s into their locking position. And furthcrmore,.by interposing the false tumbler-s, the operation of'picking thelock is rendered still more diicult, since it is impossible, in'pick. ing the lock, to distinguish between the regular and the false tumblers. It will be readily understood that my loose tumblers and lever-stop can be applied to an ordinary lock, as well as to a padlock.`

What I cla-im as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The lever-stop D, combination -with a series of loose tumblcrs, B,.provided with hooks, c, and forming the bolt of a padlock, and loose false tumblers B, situated as described, the tumblers heilig operated by a key through the opening a in the side of'the padlock, to open or lock the same, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

l t HERRMAN EIFFLER.

Witnesses:

W. HAUFF, GEO. F. SOUTHERN. A 

